Black Lake Titans
by dead witch
Summary: The Titans put a new team together in the worst city in America. But what secrets are being kept, and are they up for the job? Red Star, Argent, Static Shock, Kid Flash, and Jinx just may be what's standing between evil forces and the world's destruction. Rated T, might go higher in the future.


OH, GOD. I started writing this over five years ago. I shit you not, I wrote about five hundred words, then left it buried in my files to collect dust until about five months ago. I worked on it piecemeal, until today, when I completed the last three thousand words.

This is my first real foray into the DC universe. If successful, I might decide to go further. If you guys like this, I'll continue working; if not, it was fun while it lasted.

I give to you… **The Black Lake Titans**.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

One would not normally expect to find such high-profile figures in a city as run-down as Detroit's bastard cousin, but it was in a small diner in the heart of Black Lake City where a slim black-haired youth sat at the bar.

He was nursing a cup of coffee, gingerly sipping the still-hot brew when the bells on the door jingled merrily, proper with the holiday season. The heavy footsteps thumping on the somewhat-cracked linoleum floor betrayed the person behind the heavy falls. "Leonid," the boy at the bar said. "Thanks for coming."

The larger of the two removed the woolen cap from his head. Black sunglasses (necessary, as snow glare both at home and here was often an issue) covered his eyes, though he made no move to take them off. His eternally-crimson eyes tended to scare people, even in this era of heroes and monsters. Back home, he could get away without them, sometimes, but here… no. These people were as-of-yet unaccustomed to the presence of metahumans, the explosion in superpowered population in this city still brought some citizens to awe.

"No problem, my friend," the red-headed one replied as he sat beside the leader of his team. Though only a reserve member, Leonid Kovar—otherwise known by his moniker "Red Star" to the Americans—had proven more than once his bravery and skill to his newfound friends. "I always have time for you. Is there a problem?"

The last time Leonid had been called to the aid of the two teams of the Teen Titans, a rescue operation of several dozen children being held hostage by highly-trained soldiers with advanced weaponry had been the problem. Red Star had been in the advance strike force to penetrate the warehouse that they had holed themselves up in. Using his enormous physical strength, stamina, and neigh-indestructibility, he had helped lead a team in, and the hostages out. The opinion of the man was heightened greatly in the eyes of his fellow Titans, and he had become something of a celebrity when cameras caught him carrying three small children personally out the door.

Richard—or, better known as Robin—shook his head. "Nothing at the moment, but there's something that I'd like to talk to you about."

"Anything, Richard. Whatever you need, I will do my best to help."

Robin nodded. It was sometimes unsettling to talk to other metas—though he usually didn't think of himself in those terms, per se—who knew his identity outside of his costume. His mentor had told him time and time again that one of the most important things men in their position could have was discretion.

But Leonid didn't have a secret identity. He had already shared who he was with the world, his helmet knocked aside in the kerfuffle during the warehouse incident. He openly admitted to the press that he was the product of a super-soldier program, but was now free to live his life as he wanted, and was proud to be a member of the Titans.

Robin had to respect that. He had run it by Bruce, who told him to do what his gut told him was the right thing. Robin's gut was rarely wrong.

He tilted his head to the side at an unoccupied booth. "Let's go over there," he said. "A bit of privacy." He held up a hand to get the waitress's attention. "A coffee for my friend, and—are you hungry?"

Leonid smiled. "As you Americans would say… I could eat."

The waitress was an old bird, somewhat heavyset with curly grey hair that looked like it could be used to scrub out old burnt pots. "What can I getcha?" she drawled in an accent that didn't seem native to the region.

"I'll haff the pie," he told her. "Cherry. None of that whipped cream though, thank you."

She wrote that down on her ticket pad and nodded. "And you, sugar?" she asked, glancing at Robin.

"The same," he said. "And put it on my tab, all of it, please."

"Yep," she said. She walked off to the fridge, then set the slices of pie in front of the boys. "Hold on a minute… coffee…" She poured a mug for Leonid, then with a muttered "Enjoy" went off to a far booth to take the order of a couple on a date.

"Let's go," Robin said, grabbing his plate and cup. Leonid followed him to the booth, his own purchases in hand, and sat down across from the Boy Wonder.

They ate and drank in silence for a few minutes, basking in the warmth of the drink in sharp contrast to the cold slushy snow outside. Of course, to Red Star, this was baby snow, but still… Coffee was coffee.

When they had both finished to their contentment and pushed their plates to the side, Leonid got to the point. "So. As far as I know, you don't ask people to come halfway around the world for coffee and pie. What is going on here?"

Robin slipped a hand into his side bag and pulled out several manila envelopes. He tossed them on the table in front of Leonid casually, then went back to his coffee.

"Richard, what is this?"

The Boy Wonder put his cup down and gestured at the folders. "Take a look," he said. "Tell me what you think."

Leonid took the top envelope and untied the string holding it shut, then slid a file folder out. He put it on the table and opened it, casually flipping the cover over with a finger.

"Vot is this?" His accent dipped back down to his native Russian in surprise. "This is Kid Flash! My friend! Vot is going on?"

"Keep your voice down, Leonid," Robin said casually. "Rosa's looking over here."

"Rosa…" Red Star turned his neck to see the waitress hastily turn her head the other way. "Ah. Sorry." He shook his head. "But what is this all about?"

"Just keep reading," Robin said. Leonid did as asked and skimmed the file. Skills, weaknesses, history, stats, activity record…

"Robin," Leonid said under his breath. "Is this what I think it is? Is Kid Flash under suspicion of something?"

Robin's eyes widened. "No! No, nothing like that. Bart helped compile this file, the same as you when we solidified our Titan pact."

Leonid was relieved. "Good. I wouldn't want to haff to face against that boy. He is goofy, but very very good."

Robin smiled. "That's the idea," he said. He nudged the next file on top toward him. Leonid set Bart's file aside and opened the next, to see the pale face of the girl called Jinx staring back at him. "Hmm. Her. I like her. She can be sweet when she isn't mocking my accent." His eyes flickered up at Robin. "She used to be a foe of yours, no?"

Robin nodded and sipped from his cup. "Used to, yes. But some time before that problem with The Brain, she switched. Now, she's one of us."

"I see…" He opened the third folder. "Static? Who is this?"

"Static Shock. Virgil Hawkins. A meta out of Dakota City, one of those called 'Bang Babies.' Got his powers from a chemical accident, along with about a dozen other kids. Over the past year or so, he's worked out of there, occasionally teaming up with others when the situation called for it. Even worked with the League when Brainiac showed up that one time."

"Why haven't we met him before, then?"

"It's complicated. His brother and sister metas in Dakota haven't made it too easy on him. When The Brain and Mallah captured us, he was going through his own siege. Couldn't make it. He's been kinda busy since then, but he's free now."

"Free for…?"

Robin tapped the last file. "One more. Then I'll tell you."

Leonid sighed and opened this last package. "Argent?"

"Antonia Monetti. Knows more languages and has more identities than me. Her situation's complicated, too, but she's good people."

Leonid's eyes glanced through the sheets in his hands. "Half alien? In place to take over the world?"

"_Told _you it's complicated." He set his empty cup aside. "She's a hero, now. She and her kin rebelled against their… well, _parents. _Certain situations had her hopping around, but I put out the offer, and she accepted."

Leonid was getting impatient. "_What _offer, Richard?"

The Boy Wonder smiled. "Count them," he told the soldier.

"One, two… four." He cocked an eyebrow. "Vot about it?"

Robin extended a finger at him. "Five."

Leonid's eyes shot open in understanding. "Nyet. You cannot be serious!"

"Very serious."

"But why me?"

"Because you're the man for the job. Trained by the best, class 8 strength, class _9 _invulnerability, energy projection, flight, off-the-charts strategic intelligence—"

"But that doesn't mean I'm the man for this!"

Robin looked him in the eye. "Leonid, I was there at the warehouse. When Cyborg got knocked out, you took command effortlessly. From all accounts, the only reason several of those kids survived was because you put yourself in danger to keep them safe. You don't have to be a hero to save lives, but you have to be a hero to risk your own. We _need _you!

"In case you don't watch American news, there is a drastic rise in the metahuman population here in the states. It seems like everyone and their brother is getting their hands on alien technology, or toys from the future, or is having random mutagenic chemicals dropped on them, or random, ancient magical artifacts. The sad fact is, the majority of those people use whatever gifts or skills or voodoo they have selfishly. You're one of the _good _guys, my friend. Someone with your skill set is more necessary than ever before!"

Leonid glanced down at the folders before him on the table. "But… us? Myself and them?"

"Yep."

"But why? And where?"

"Opposite order: right here. Black Lake City. Why? Crime, especially metahuman-related crime, is on the rise here. There are no heroes based here, no vigilantes make this place a part of their route. The police are good, but not good enough. Thirteen cops have died in the past two months due to people with powers having their way." Robin clenched his fist. "We need to make it known that people can live their lives without fear once again. Jump and Steel city are mostly safe these days, thanks to the Titans, but they weren't that way before. You and these men and women can do the same.

"All I ask is you try. That's pretty much all I can ask you to do."

Leonid kept quiet for a moment as he finished off his coffee and indicated to Rosa The Waitress that he wanted a refill. After she left, he looked at Robin in the eye. "When?" he asked flatly.

"Now."

"Now?"

"Now."

"But what about—"

"I already talked to your government."

"You did?"

"Well… I had a friend talk to them. Got permission to have you released from any official obligation should you choose."

"And the others are already in on this?"

"Just waiting on you."

"Where?"

"At the tower."

"What tower?"

Robin let himself a grin. "_Titan _Tower, of course."

Leonid frowned. "You had already built it and gathered the troops? How did you know that I would accept your proposal?"

Robin shrugged nonchalantly. "I didn't. I had hoped, but I didn't know."

"Your master has taught you well, my friend."

"I learned from the best." Robin put the files back in his bag. "Listen. Nobody's forcing you to do this. It's not a 'do this or else' type deal. I can understand if you want out. I already have two backups who would do well on their own."

Leonid drained his coffee in four or five gulps. _Black, like mother nature intended. _"But you need me," he stated flatly. "This is a different environment than the other cities the Titans have set up in. This is more akin to war than heroics."

Robin let out a breath. "I wish you hadn't put it like that, but… yeah. That's the problem. There are more unregistered weapons, violent criminals, and criminally-slanted metas here than anywhere else in the country, per capita. I don't know _why _nobody has come here and tried to clean the place up before now, but it's high time it's been done." He looked out the window at the street slush. "You are a soldier, for good or for ill. You know how some of these people think."

Leonid waved a hand in dismissal. "No, no. I want to do this. If it means I can do some good in this world and make a difference, it would be my pleasure. When can I meet the team?"

Robin pulled a wallet from his inside coat pocket and plucked a twenty-dollar bill and left it on the counter, _much _more than enough to cover his bill. "Now, if you want. The rest are already waiting for you at the T3."

Leonid stood with him and walked beside as Robin made his way to the door. "T3?"

"Er… Yeah. _Officially _designated 'Titan Tower Three', we just abbreviate it T3."

"I see." They left the diner, and Robin opened the door to what looked like an extremely expensive black car. "Yours?"

"Borrowed it from a friend," Robin said. Leonid climbed into the passenger seat. "Buckle up."

"I'll be fine, I thi—_oof!" _Robin reversed sharply out of the parking spot, and Red Star, unprepared, slammed his face onto the consol in front of him. Of course, as tough as he was, he wasn't hurt, but it was still a surprise.

"Told you," Robin said with a smirk.

"All right, all right! Seat belt!" Leonid said with a chuckle. "Safety first."

The car slipped expertly through traffic; in fact, every time they approached a red light it turned green before they had to slow down. After a pattern emerged, Leonid looked over at his driver. "Borrowed from a friend?" he asked.

"A very _good _friend." He left it at that, and Leonid didn't press.

Eventually, they came to the wharf area of the city where major shipping lines docked. Robin gunned the car toward the end of a pier, directly at the heart of Lake Michigan. "Robin? You do know that there is no road up there? Robin?"

"Just relax," Robin said. "I've got this covered."

"Robin!"

Just then, the car jumped into the air and leapt _over _the guardrails and splashed into the water. "Robin!" Leonid shouted. He instinctively closed his eyes… until the steady hum of an engine reached his ears. He opened his eyes and looked out a window to see waves passing by at incredible speed _backwards. _"Oh, now you just be showing off!" he said with a mixed laugh/scowl. The car had turned into a boat.

A _boat._

"Not everybody flies," Robin pointed out, though he could barely suppress a grin. "We mere humans have to get by somehow."

The boat pulled up to the rocky shore and sprouted wheels from its sides and drove on up to the massive "T"-shaped building on the small island. "Not bad," he said aloud.

"Don't mess with the classics," Robin replied. He pulled up in front of the main doors and stopped, killing the engine. The duo got out and walked on up.

A palm reader popped out when they were within four feet. "You're up," Robin told Red Star.

"How did you get my—bah, I probably don't want to know." He put his hand on the red plate, a slight buzz informing him that his every impression was being scanned.

"_**Please state code name and alphanumerical identity,**_" a voice from the consol said in a slightly mechanical female's voice.

Leonid cleared his throat. "Red Star, alpha-tango-three-three-five-nine-zero."

The red plate turned green. "_**Access approved. Welcome, Red Star.**_" The doors slid open, revealing a brightly-lit interior.

Before he could take a good look around, a figure in bright yellow and red appeared in front of him. "Heyhey hey guys! Man, this tower is awesome! Lots of room to run and jump around and it's got an awesome gym and rec room and holy crap the fridge is huge! Oh, hey Robin, good to see you again, you too Red Star, I guess you're the boss huh? Awesome!" He disappeared, then reappeared again holding a ham sandwich. "Are you hungry?"

"Um… No, thank you though Bart," Leonid said.

Kid Flash shrugged and chomped it in a… well, _flash. _"Your loss is my gain!" He burped and patted his stomach. "Man, I'm thirsty! I'll go and check out that soda fountain… Nice touch by the way Robin!"

Red Star looked at Robin when the speedster flickered away. "Soda fountain?" he asked flatly.

"Brought to you by Cyborg and Beast Boy. They kept bugging me for one, but I put a stop to that. Unfortunately… When I sent the blueprint schematics to the company who built the T3, I didn't _proofread _it. Hence… the soda fountain." He sighed and walked further into the building. "Try to keep KF's consumption down if you want some peace. I like the guy, but he's… hyper."

"'Hyper' is putting it kindly. Where are the rest?"

Kid Flash appeared once again, then began walking backwards in front of Robin and Red Star. "Well, Argent and Static are in their rooms unpacking," he said, sipping from a cup with a straw. "I think Jinx is in the loo somewhere. There's like fifteen bathrooms in this place!" He held up his cup. "I've already used half of them!"

Red Star put a hand on the smaller teen's shoulder. "My friend… No more soda today, please. We do not need the water bill to be the highest expense we have."

The Speed Force prodigy grinned and sucked the straw at, of course, _super speed. _Following another belch, he said "Gotcha! No more soda! Ooh! Cappuccino machine! Catch you two later!" He disappeared in a blur of red and yellow.

"Cappuccino machine?"

Robin facepalmed. "Oh, god… I just _had _to tell Cyborg to design this place in mind of speeders like the Flashes. I'm going to kill him."

Leonid smiled and shook his head. "At least it will not be too boring around here."

"Yeah, yeah. Just remember this moment, Red. You'll want to go back in time and smack yourself. I guarantee it."

The super soldier laughed. "Perhaps. Even so, I am glad to have Bart with us. He is as much a warrior as you or I, when it all comes down to it."

"I know. Anyway, time to gather everyone in the conference room." He pulled out his yellow Titan communicator. "Calling all T3 Titans. Please meet in the first-floor conference room in five minutes. Time to get underway." He shut it without waiting for reply. "Let's go."

Red Star had been to several meetings of the Titans before, but never before had he seen a scene such as this. Around the table were some of the best people he knew and one complete stranger, though he seemed to be a nice-enough guy at first glance.

Robin was the only one standing, a place for him at the table not designated. Once Kid Flash had arrived (ironically, the _last _person; according to him, while his metabolism was as fast as he was, bodily process didn't move at superspeed) Robin crossed his arms and looked around the table. "First, I just wanted to thank you all for coming here. I know that some of you have given up some things to join this roster, but I hope that you'll find it all worthwhile."

The black youth with the dreadlocks and goggles waved a hand. "Don't sweat it, Robin. Gear and Rubberband Man have things covered in Dakota. When I told them about this, they practically kicked me out of the city." That brought a few chuckles from around the table. Though most of them only knew Static Shock from reputation, the problems in Dakota City were well-known in the meta community.

"Thanks," Robin said. "Now, I know most of us are familiar already, but it wouldn't hurt to refresh our memories. Just stand up and introduce yourselves. Jinx? Care to go first?"

The pale girl with the pink hair smiled at the boy she had fought so many battles against and nodded. "No problem." She stood and pushed her chair back. "My name is Jinx. I used to be a… well, I wouldn't call myself a _super villain _or anything, though the fearless leader over there might disagree on that part." Kid Flash chuckled, and Argent smiled. "I wanna say that I was under some sort of crazy mind control from Brother Blood, but the truth is, I was pretty much a magical delinquent way before he brought me into the H.I.V.E. But eventually, I got over that and… well, I figured out that being evil just wasn't cool. I know how crazy that sounds, but I had way more fun being a good guy than getting my butt kicked every other Friday."

"You used to be a villain?" Static asked.

Jinx nodded. "I guess. I mean, yeah, I did things like break into banks and stuff, but I never went out of my way to hurt anyone who couldn't fight back. I know, I know," she said, holding her hands up. "That sounds like a cop-out. And maybe it is. But… but I like who I am now. I like people looking up to me. I _like _helping people. I figure, why not?"

"And she's my girlfriend!" Kid Flash crowed. "Am I lucky or what?"

Jinx slapped him on the back of his head. "Bart! I told you that we weren't going to be advertising that!"

"But it's true! And who's the most handsome Flash around?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "I'd say the _first _one. I love that hat of his.

"Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted… I'm not just called Jinx; that's the only name I know. I don't remember my parents or anything before I was about eight or so. I'm not even sure how old I really am. But that's the first word I remember hearing, so I thought that was my name. Eventually, my magical talents awakened inside of me. Basically, I'm a well of bad luck for anyone who crosses me." She smiled innocently at Robin. "Isn't that right, Fearless?"

Robin sighed. "Yeah, we know you're good, Jinx. No need to rub it in." The rest of the T3 Titans chuckled. Jinx was quite popular in what had unofficially been dubbed the "Bailout Squad" and most of them had seen her talents up close. She was good.

"Me next!" said Kid Flash. He leapt up and planted his knuckles on his hips. "I am Kid Flash, the fastest boy alive! I'm from the 29th century, but due to some gobbledygook science-fiction mumbo jumbo I'm here in the good old 21st! I probably could go back if I wanted, but what would the fun in that be? This is the age of heroes! This is where it's happening! I'll be the Flash, minus 'Kid' one day, but for now I'm happy saving the world with the greatest young heroes history has ever known!" He looked around the table. "Well, that's about all I got! Any questions?"

Argent raised her hand. "Yes, luv. Is there any way to shut you up?"

Kid Flash laughed aloud. "Probably not, but if I ever do when we're fighting someone, run the other way cause I'll probably be opening a can on them, royally!"

The others laughed again. To Robin's slight surprise, he noticed how well these five were getting along. He remembered hearing from Cyborg how Aqualad and Speedy got in each other's hair all the time when they first formed Titans East, but _after _the Brother Blood affair. These Titans, though, were gelling more quickly than he had dared hoped.

"Looks like I'm next," Static said. "People call me Static Shock, but you guys can call me Virgil. No point in secret identities when we gotta work together and trust each other, right?" He pulled his goggles off, then removed the remaining section of mask. Behind it was a rather handsome African-American youth with chocolate-toned skin and good features. "There. No secrets. I learned the hard way that secrets can sometimes make things harder with your friends than the truth.

"I'm a Bang Baby. In case you don't know what that means, a while ago a chemical was accidentally released in Dakota in an area with a bunch of kids. Just so happened that most of those kids were punks, except for me and a couple others. The chemical transformed us… some more than others. Ebon, Shiv, Rubberband Man, me, and a lot of others got powers more or less randomly. Me?" He held up his hands and in an instant blue-hued electricity cackled around his gloves. "I generate, store, redirect, and release electricity. Hence, 'Static Shock.'" He let the blue power die down. "I can pretty much do whatever you would think of with this stuff: fly, shoot bolts of lightning, manipulate metal… etc, etc." He smiled and put his mask back on. "Any questions?"

Kid Flash raised his hand. "Yeah, a couple. First, why haven't you come when the call for Titans have gone out before?"

Virgil sighed. "Yeah, about that. Listen, I didn't even know about the Titans until I teamed up with Batman that one time—you know what I'm talking about, right, Robin? Anyway, after a couple months, Rob came back, gave me a communicator, asked me to join, it was all good. But the second Big Bang happened, things got even crazier, and I was pretty well stuck there with my boys Gear and Rubberband Man."

"Rubberband Man? What kinda name is that?"

Virgil looked at him with some humor. "A very _literal _name, my man. He was a bad guy at first, but came to my side after a while. Guy's no joke—though that purple costume of his is. Body made of rubber, almost impervious to harm, can stretch out _crazy _far. Think Plastic Man, but black, young, and with a scowl most of the time. What other question ya got, Bart?"

"Just one. You can fly?"

"Yeah, why?"

Kid Flash grinned. "No reason. That's just pretty cool, if you ask me."

Virgil cracked a smile. "You have no idea, amigo." He sat down and turned to his left. "You're on bat, Antonia."

The pale girl smiled. Her hair, formerly red, was now a shocking blue to match the lining of her similarly-new combat dress. "Thank you, Virgil." She stood up slowly. "My name is Antonia Monetti, though that is a name that I do not use very often, if at all. I have quite a few aliases, and know most of the known languages spoken here on Earth." She turned to her left and smiled at Red Star. Even Russian she said in his language.

"My past is kind of… complicated. I don't like talking too much about it. I hope you'll respect that. I won't lie to you and if you really want me to bring it up, I will. But I just don't think it's worth talking about anymore." She turned her eyes to the side, avoiding eye contact. "The past is the past. We can only move forward from here on." She inhaled. "My powers are pretty simple, when you get down to it: I have the ability to create constructs of energy and manipulate them. You know the Green Lanterns? Very similar to that. I've been told that the energy wavelength is very similar to that of a power ring. I'm not as skilled yet, but I'm better now than I was a year ago. Who knows? Perhaps I could one day be their equal. That would be pretty cool, yes?"

Kid Flash held up a thumb and winked. "That's way beyond cool, Antonia! Or do you still prefer 'Argent'?"

Antonia waved her hand. "We're friends, Bart. No need to stand on ceremony here. Antonia will do just fine."

Kid Flash nodded vigorously. "Got it! I've worked with a couple Green Lanterns before, it should be awesome working with you, too!" He pointed at Leonid. "You're up, big guy!"

Leonid smiled at the speeder. "Of course, Bart. Save for Virgil, you have all met me before. My name is Leonid Kovar, of Russia. I am the end product of a super soldier program that my mother country performed quite a while ago, though the results weren't exactly… perfect. Nonetheless, I am strong and durable, and I've had quite a bit of military training.

"Some time ago, Robin and his Titans were hunting a monster in my homeland that I had some part in creating. To make a long story short, we worked together to defeat it. Unfortunately, I had to absorb the energies inside the being, and I…became unstable. Starfire flew me out into orbit, away from the Earth and any dangers to the people of my home. Essentially, I blew up." He paused for a moment. "But something odd happened. I survived. I… The energy inherent inside me kept my body from disintegrating. When I fell back to the Earth, I had just enough energy left to survive reentry. A kind woman nursed me back to health, and I was in good enough fitness to assist with the Brotherhood of Evil fiasco." He raised his hands. "Since then, I have been a proud member of the Titans when they required my assistance, and I have always been glad to lend it." He shrugged, and said, "Most of you know that after the last major incident with the Brain, I have been an active member of the Titans in rescue operations, or when military strategy was necessary. I am proud to be a member of this team, and I hope that we can all work well together."

"Which brings me to the next point," Robin said after he finished. "Bumblebee and I have nominated Red Star to lead this team, the Black Lake Titans. As I told you all before, there are problems and challenges that you will face here that no other team of Titans have faced before. Even now, unlawful forces are gathering, preparing to wreak havoc and cause destruction the likes of which hasn't been seen in years." Robin walked forward and slammed his palms on the tabletop with a heavy thump. "I am not exaggerating in the least when I say that even the combined force of the Titans East and West would have a hard time with this city. Red Star is formerly military-trained; while I was trained to fight crime, he was trained to fight _wars. _And make no mistake—the first day you walk out those doors at a team and declare yourself, you will be at war.

"This city is dying. There is no way around that. It's no secret that Black Lake is slowly rotting, both from the inside, and from without. The way the economy has been for the past half decade, all major industries have all-but-failed. There almost isn't anything here to protect anymore." His eyes, white with the lenses in his mask, narrowed to slits. "And that's what makes it dangerous. Even now, gangs of metas and super-soldiers and low-level mages are claiming ground. Thugs with high-tech guns are robbing banks, knocking over armored cars, and stealing from those who can't fight back. They are a cancer to this city." He gripped his right hand into a fist and slammed it down. "We're here to wipe the cancer _out._"

The room was silent for a moment, then Argent spoke aloud. "Robin, I appreciate your enthusiasm," she said slowly, "but if this city is dying, what is the point of saving it in the first place?"

Robin looked at her. "Like I said, those thugs, criminals, and crooks are a cancer. For a body to become whole and healthy, a cancer needs to be wiped out in its entirety before recovery can commence. It'll be your job to reduce crime by at least three quarters within the next year. Then, and only then, can the healing process truly proceed."

"You say that as if the city has a fighting chance," Jinx said. "You think that if we just get rid of the crime, the city will come back to life?"

A small smile tugged at Robin's lips. "It's much more than that, Jinx," he said. "What if I told you that very, very soon, several veins of precious metals and ores were going to be found, found very close to here? And that these metals and ores had to be processed close to here? What if I told you that certain companies were slowly buying up factories, and already were beginning to repurpose them for processing and production?"

"I'd say… that someone is running the long con on this city," Leonid said. "I would say that someone is taking advantage of Black Lake and is using us to clean out the trash before business picks up in this area." He frowned and steepled his fingers in front of his face. "I am not sure that I appreciate being used like this."

The rest of the table hummed and nodded. "It's not quite like that," Robin said, holding his hands up in an attempt to mollify them. "Plans to form you guys had been made some time ago; it wasn't until three weeks ago that the mining veins had been found."

"I don't like the sound of this," Kid Flash said. "Exactly what kind of precious ores are we talking about here? Is it that important that we need to set up a super hero team to protect it? And who found it all in the first place?"

"It is _vitally _important, Wally. I need you to trust me on this one." He grimaced, then waved a hand over the table. A holographic topographical map of the city and the surrounding twenty miles appeared over it; the city was highlighted in blue, while the land was lined green and yellow. Several red X's pulsed slowly to the north-east, clustered about three miles from each other, while orange and pink O's ranged from the south to southeast. He pointed at one of the pink O's. "This marker represents a vein or Plutonium ore recently discovered. It is an extremely rare grade of naturally-occurring Plutonium, said to be twenty-three percent more efficient than that found in Uranium processing. It is so rare, in fact, that these four deposits are believed to be the only sites on Earth to be found."

"Plu_tonium_?" Virgil shouted. "You've gotta be kidding me! The radiation would have been off the charts decades ago! Why didn't they find this until now?"

Robin frowned. "Two reasons," he said. "One, it's buried under about six hundred feet of bedrock, far enough to risk exposure. In fact, if a friend hadn't gone underground some time ago, we never would have found any of this."

"But what about these?" Kid Flash appeared at Robin's side and pointed at the other O's and the X's. "What do those represent?"

"I was getting to that," Robin said. "These O's represent Uranium mines; no different from normal. It's at roughly the same depth as the Plutonium, in greater amounts."

"Hmm. Uranium… I am liking this less and less," said Argent. "But what about those X's, Robin?"

"That's the tricky part," Robin said. "Does anyone here know anything about… Xenothium?"

The room fell silent for a moment. Static, Argent, Red Star, and Kid Flash looked at Robin with dropped jaws. "You must be joking!" Argent blurted out. "Xenothium? Here, of all places?"

"I'm afraid so," Robin said with a grimace. "I'm no happier than you are about it."

"You've gotta be kidding us!" Virgil said. "Xenothium doesn't even exist in nature! It's a compound created in laboratory settings only! Hell, it takes nearly as much raw power to _create _Xenothium as it produces! No way it can exist in the real world!"

Robin placed his hands on the table and hung his head. "It exists, and it's enormously terrifying to find. Trust me when I say, the League is depending on us to make sure things go smoothly on that front."

"Like hell!" Virgil said. "This is way above our pay grade, chief! Let the heavy hitters handle this one!"

"This isn't something that the League can handle!" Robin snapped. "If they officially set up base here, someone might figure out what was going on! That's one of the main reasons they're giving official sanction to this team; we Titans can go anywhere at a time, and with the advent of the Titans East, it's no longer surprising if we set up a team anywhere—_especially _in a crime-ridden city like Black Lake. Can you imagine what would happen if the criminal element gained control of either one of these Xenothium deposits? It's not even worth thinking about!"

Jinx raised one hand, placing the other on Virgil's arm to stop his further protest. "If you could," she said, "could someone please explain to me what Xenothium is? I'm new to it."

Virgil rubbed the bridge of his nose and grimaced. "It's bad, Jinx. It's bad, bad trouble."

"It's _worse _than bad," Kid Flash said. "I come from a future where Xenothium was mass-produced. Let's just say, it's no future anyone wants to be a part of."

"Think of it like this," Robin explained. "Xenothium is an extremely rare non-radioactive isotope discovered ten years ago. One hundredth of a gram was created after dozens of failed attempts, and _that _was a lucky shot. For about a millionth of a second, a man-made portion of Xenothium was observed under laboratory conditions."

"One _millionth_ of a second?" Jinx asked. "What happened to it?"

"Those lab jockeys learned the hard way about Xenothium's reaction to light," Virgil said. From what I heard, if it can be corralled and contained right, a single gram of Xenothium is equivalent to a thousand kilos of Uranium under the best of conditions. It's a slow-decaying isotope that releases a freakish amount of energy. If it could be put to practical use, it could be responsible for replacing every energy source as we know it."

Jinx gulped. "But… what happened to the scientists?" she asked.

Kid Flashed turned unusually serious. "The same thing that happened to Chernobyl," he said softly. "This time, though, it happened a thousand feet underground. People thought it was a minor tremor. In reality, though, one hundredth of a gram of Xenothium was enough to flash fry—pun not intended—the entire fifty-thousand square foot laboratory. Xenothium isn't radioactive—not harmfully so, anyway, not in the long run—but it's the bastard offspring of dynamite, napalm, the sun, and the wrath of God himself, all put into physical form. If the wrong hands obtain any of it, they could very well hold the world for ransom." He looked right at Robin, eye to eye, and said, "Rob, I need to know, here and now. How much Xenothium are we talking about, here?"

In a clear, steady voice, Robin answered. "There is estimated to be as much as eighteen kilos of natural Xenothium eight hundred feet below the surface of Black Lake itself."

The color left KF's face as his eyes went wide. "Mother of God," he whispered. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"Oh god," Virgil said. "Oh god oh god oh god…" He ran his fingers through his dreads. "This is not good."

"You're telling me," Robin said. "It's vitally important that you five get this city under control. Even now, extremely specialized, no-light equipment is being designed to get it out of there. Should anyone with an agenda find out about this… it could spell the end of the world as we know it."

Kid Flash turned away and slowly walked back to his seat. "This is insane," he said as he sat down. "You, Bumblebee, the entire Justice League—you expect _us _to save the world? Alone?"

"Not alone," Robin said. "Never. The rest of us Titans will always be on call should you need us." He smiled. "You even have a direct line to the Justice League, if it comes to that. But you five are our front line of defense. Are you going to tell us all no?"

Red Star and Kid Flash shared a look. The two of them were most veteran among the five, at least as far as it took to master their powers. Leonid had been favorably compared to Superman, and already Kid Flash was waiting to take his mentor's shoes. After a moment of silent communication, they simultaneously nodded. "I'm in," Wally said.

"As am I," said Red Star.

"Jinx?"

"Where the Kid Clash goes, I go, Fearless," she said, though with a slight treble in her tone.

"I am in as well," Argent said.

They all looked to Static. "Well?" Red Star asked him. "What do you say, Virgil?"

The African-American youth looked at them all in turn. "You're all crazy. This entire situation is bugging crazy. I'm crazy for _being _here. Heck, I'm crazy for fighting crime in a refitted track suit!" He shook his head and sighed. "But hey, if I ran away from every little problem, I wouldn't be here in the first place." He held up a fist, and blue light began dancing around it in static sparks. "I'm in. Until the end, I'm in. But I _still _think ya'll are crazy!"

Jinx held up a fist as well; Hex-magic form around it. "Seems like we have a lot of work to do," she said. "Bad luck for anyone crossing our paths."

Argent held up a crimson-coated hand. "We won't have much time to sleep, so we have to make sure we stay strong."

Kid Flash raised his fist and vibrated it; Speed Force-induced electricity gathered. "I seriously fear for any of our enemies who think we'll go down easy."

Red Star's fist glowed with his own unique crimson hue. "Nyet, my friend. It is us who will be doing the knocking down from now on. Each and every obstacle that appears before us will be sent to where they belong." He released the pent-up energy and sent it back into his core, the placed his hand at the middle of the table, palm down. "Let us work hard, and protect this city," he continued. "It is our responsibility now. If we must risk our lives for this, then so be it. The fight is worth it. The cause is worth it." As they relaxed their powers and stacked hands on his one by one, he smiled. "Let us get to work."

* * *

A/N: Be honest, folks; what did you think? Did I give the team a good lineup? Are they balanced? And most of all, was this a good prelude to a story? Let me know with your reviews, please. I'll love your faces forever, or at least until heat death.


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